In 1997, Princess Sally died. Well, not for long.
If you are unfamiliar, Princess Sally Acorn was a featured character in the Archie Sonic the Hedgehog series. Leader of the Freedom Fighters and Sonic’s love interest, she had become a fan favorite, in no small part thanks to the way she was depicted in the animated series the comic was based on. With the show having been off the air for nearly two years, the book was the only place people could see the Freedom Fighters in action. But like any ongoing narrative, sometimes the writers want to shake things up. Even for a comic they’re not sure would last more than fifty issues.
Ken Penders, who is infamous for reasons beyond the scope of this archive, wanted to make the arc that ended in issue 50 something special. A story that would end the battle between Sonic and Robotnik. A story that could serve as the end of the series, but also springboard into a “season three.” So he decided to do something crazy. He killed off Princess Sally in issue 47.
As one can expect, the fan reaction was less than favorable. The moment the solicitations hit the Internet, people went wild. They called Ken a hack, they petitioned to bring her back to life, they held memorials in her memory - all before the issue had even hit the stands. David Gonterman joined right in, expressing his anger in a quickly drawn comic book. A story that served as a way for the character to survive, even if that meant she transported to another universe and was hanging out with the Rescue Rangers.
Unbeknownst to the fandom at the time, the decision to reverse Sally’s death had already happened. Though rumor was SEGA was not happy with the character dying, Ken later stated that it was the editor of the book, Justin F. Gabrie, who convinced him to change the outcome. As Ken was connected to the fanbase, he was completely aware of people’s reactions to Sally’s apparent death, including the comic that David Gonterman drew. Startled, Ken asked for Gonterman’s address, sending him advance copies of the comic to show that Sally had indeed survived.
Gonterman, unaware of the internal politics of Archie, thought that somehow he had single handedly saved the character from her deadly fate. This is why, not long after, he thought he could tackle the comic head on with his own series, Fauna Force. Either way, it is undeniable that Gonterman, in this sliver of a moment, was heard, even if his request had already been decided long before he put pen to paper.